Saturday, October 18, 2014

REFLECT on your true nature this Year: Happy Deepavali

Wishing You And Your Family A Very Happy Deepavali And

A Peaceful & Prosperous New Year

(Note: Gujarati New Year will be V.S. 2071 on 24th Oct 2014. For other states,
year is celebrated on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada Most Lunar calendars start the
year on Shukla Paksha Pratipada during Chaitra month (March – April). In 2014,
the Nav Samvat begins on March 31. This day is celebrated as
Gudi Padwa
and
Yugadi. The
New Year is first day after the Amavasi (No moon) in the month of Chaitra.

However in Gujarat New Year starts on Shukla Paksha Pratipada in month of
Kartik.)

Each year,
we get an opportunity to reflect upon our past actions and
accordingly take necessary action so as not to repeat mistakes. It is
about starting fresh life.

bhagavad
gItA is one of the most revered scriptures for us. Sri Abhinavagupta, a great
and unique Saiva AcArya has written a unique commentary on bhagavad gItA. The
commentary directly asks one to look within. It is in the commentary of Sri
Abhinavagupta ji that we find symbolic interpretation in the first verse itself.

Note: Adi
SankacAcArya ji has commented on gItA from chapter 2, verse 10 i.e. BG 2.10.
This is because the chapter 1 is all about creating a background, calledas
pUrvabhumikA. gItA starts with BG 2.7, as it is in this verse arjuna accepts
bhagavAn Sri kruShNa. bhagavAn accepts arjuna as his disciple and begins giving
his updeSa from BG 2.10. Hence Adi SankarAcArya ji has start his commentary from
BG 2.10, though he has covered earlier verses in brief.

Since
symbolic interpretation can be used even today to turn introvert and apply the
teachings in our daily life, let’s have a look at BG 1.1, BG 6.5-6 of bhagavad
gItA in brief.

Kuru-kshetra, a battlefield, is our own mind.

Kaurava-s
are ignorant qualities like, hatred, jealousy, etc and attachment to
perishable objects and person with a sense of attachment like ‘me’ and ‘mine’

pAnDava-s
are positive qualities like love, compassion, etc and will to overcome
negative qualities.

druTrAShTra is represented as a blind man, meaning our ignorance towards Atman
/ Brahman and false attachment towards objects and loved words. Since we are
all ‘blinded by attachment - ‘me’ and ‘mine’, gItA begins with the blind king.

The summary of Adi SankarAcArya ji’s
commentary on two verses BG 6.5-6 can be:

Mind is
one’s own enemy and friend. Mind with sAttvika (divine) qualities is a friend
and an obedient servant, while a mind filled with lower, negative thoughts and
emotions is one’s greatest enemy. Anyone else who is an external harmful enemy,
even he is of one's own making! [This is because of perception and our own way
of judgment of a particular person and incident.]. One who has conquered with 5
senses, that mind is the friend, while the one who’s mind is a slave of senses
is an enemy of himself.

As an
enemy, who is different from oneself, does harm to oneself, similarly one's self
behaves like an enemy to oneself. This is the meaning. If the body and organs
are under control, they are helpful in concentrating one's mind on the Self;
but, if they are not under control, they oppose this concentration.

[Note,
The word ‘AtmA’ (Self) is taken as ‘mana’ (mind) when it is taking about
controlling one own self and self with good and / or bad qualities. Real Self
cannot be controlled, as it is the one and only one reality]

Gita begins
with a blind king and ends with Arjuna’s recalling of Self i.e. knowing the true
nature of Self. Our journey too is from that of being attached (blinded by
objects and loved ones) to becoming a disciple and then realizing our True
nature i.e. becoming a GYAnI by the grace of ISvara and guru.

This article
is purposefully published early so that one can

Reflect ... On Your True Identity

Story: Once, mother tigress died immediately after giving birth to a cub while pouncing on sheep. Cub grew among sheep heard and thought himself to be a sheep. He started eating grass and became a vegetarian. Once a tiger saw a cub behaving like a sheep. Tiger grabbed him and show his face in a pond and said that your face matched with 'Me', the tiger, and not with the Sheep. Immediately, Tiger realized his 'true' nature and started living like a 'Tiger'.

Let the lamp of knowledge ever ignite in our hearts is my prayer from the bottom of my heart

Reflect ...

Overcome negative qualities That Stop Your Spiritual Progress ...

Realize Your True Nature

Verses explained in detail:
(can be skipped)

मूल स्लोकः

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच

धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः।

मामकाः
पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय।।1.1।।

English translation by Swami Gambhirananda

1.1. Dhrtarastra said -- O Sanjaya, what did my sons (and others) and Pandu's
sons (and others) actually do when, eager for battle, they assembled on the
sacred field, the Kuruksetra (Field of the Kurus123)?

1.1 Dharmaksetre etc. Here some authors offer a different explanation as -Kuruksetra
: the man's body is the ksetra i.e., the facilitator, of the kurus, i.e., the
sense-organs. The same is the field of all worldly duties, since it is the cause
of their birth; which is also the field of the righteous act that has been
described as :

'This is the highest righteous act viz., to realise the
Self by means of the Yoga';

and which is the protector [of the embodied Self] by
achieving emancipation [by means of this], through the destruction of all
duties. It is the location where there is the confrontation among all ‘ksatras’,
the murderous ones-because the root ‘ksad’ means 'to kill' - viz, passion
and asceticism, wrath and forbearance, and others that stand in the mutual
relationship of the slayer and the slain. Those that exist in it are the
‘mamakas’ i.e., the intentions that are worthy of man of ignorance and are the
products of ignorance-and those that are born of Pandu: i.e., the intentions, of
which the soul is the very knowledge itself and which are worthy of persons of
pure knowledge. What did they do? In other words, which were vanquished by what?
Mamaka : a man of ignorance as he utters always 'mine'. Pandu : the pure one.

We can have a look at BG 6.5 and BG 6.6. Sri Abhinavagupta
ji has given a combined commentary on two verses

मूल स्लोकः

उद्धरेदात्मनाऽऽत्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्।

आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो
बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः।।6.5।।

English translation by Swami Gambhirananda

6.5 One should save oneself by oneself; one should not lower oneself. For
oneself is verily one's own friend; oneself is verily one's own enemy.

मूल स्लोकः

बन्धुरात्माऽऽत्मनस्तस्य येनात्मैवात्मना जितः।

अनात्मनस्तु
शत्रुत्वे वर्तेतात्मैव शत्रुवत्।।6.6।।

English translation by Swami Gambhirananda

6.6 Of him, by whom has been conquered his very self by the self, his self is
the friend of his self. But, for one who has not conquered his self, his self
itself acts inimically like an enemy.

6.5-6 Uddharet etc. Bandhuh etc. In this path there is no other means excepting
the self i.e. nothing but one's mind. Indeed the subdued mind is a friend and it
lifts up the Self from the highly dreadful cycle of birth and death. But the
unsubdued one does the act of enmity as it throws the Self down in the horrible
hell. The characteristic mark of the subdued-minded man is this :

6.5 one should save oneself sunk in the sea of the world by oneself; one should
save, should uplift (oneself) from that, i.e. make it attain the state of being
established in Yoga. one should not lower, debase; oneself. for oneself is
verily one's own friend. Certainly there is no other friend who can bring about
liberation from this world. In fact, even a friend is an obstacle to Liberation,
he being the source of such bondages as love etc. Therefore the emphatic
statement, 'For one is one's own friend, is justifiable. oneself verily is one's
own enemy. Anyone else who is an external harmful enemy, even he is of one's own
making! Therefore the firm conclusion, 'oneself verily is one's own enemy's is
reasonable. It has been said that 'oneself is verily one's own friend, oneself
verily is one's own enemy.' As to that, (the self) has this additional word, ‘atma’,
self. of what kind is one's own friend, or (the self) of what kind is one's own
enemy? This is being answered:

6.6 of him; by whom, has been conquered, subdued; his very self, the aggregate
of body and organs; that atma, self {here atma is to be taken as mind}; is the
friend of his self. The idea is that he is a conqueror of his senses. but for
one who has not conquered his self, who has no self-control, his self itself
acts like an enemy, inimically, with the attitude of an enemy. As an enemy, who
is different from oneself, does harm to oneself, similarly one's self behaves
like an enemy to oneself. This is the meaning. If the body and organs are under
control, they are helpful in concentrating one's mind on the Self; but, if they
are not under control, they oppose this concentration.

Let’s begin our journey by taking an
appointment with our own mind and take necessary steps so as to progress
spiritually.